Athletic glove or mitt construction



Aupnl 5, 1932. K. K. KIRKHAM ATHLETIC GLOVE OR VI'lT CONSTRUCTION Filed oct. 193:1.

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Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNITD mmmwmmmamnmmwm KENZIE K. KIRKHAM, OF AMES, IOWA ATHLETIC GLOVE OR lvlllf CONSTRUCTION Application lerl October 5, 1931.

An object of my invention is to provide an athletic glove or mitt construction having a face for reducing force of impact, which is simple, durable and comparatively inenpensive to manufacture.

il. further object is to provide an efficient impact reducing means for the face of a athletic glove or mitt, such as a base-ball glove, which at all times reduces the force l0 of impact without becoming distorted and yet has a maximum of flexibility to conform to the hand of the wearer so as not to undesirably deflect a ball when striking the impact reducing means.

@i in impact reducing means of this character is particularly desirable over and above present day padded gloves which require two or three months of daily use and practice before a professional player can rely on their efficiency for scheduled competition, my glove requiring no breaking-in and being entirely reliable and one-hundred per cent efficient the first time it is used after being manufactured.

More particularly, it is my object to provide a preferred form of impact reducing means of annularly arranged sectional construction and made of flexible strip material with a means to loosely retain the sections thereof in approximate relation to each other whereby they retain their shape, but nevertheless have sufficient flexibility to instantly conform to the hand of the wearer without any restriction whatever.

A further object is to provide an impact reducing means of this character which forms part of the face of a glove or mitt and is readily built thereinto without undesirably affecting' the remainingI construction or padding of the glove.

llVith these and other objects in view my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of 'the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front view of an athletic Serial No. 567,101.

glove, such as a base-ball glove, showing my impact reducing construction thereon.

lli-ligure 2 is an enlarged sectional view On the line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of llig,- ure Ll showing parts broken away and other parte in section to illustrate the construction of my invention.

Figure el is a sectional view somewhat similar to Figure 2 showing the ready flexibility of the impact reducing means to conform to the hand of the wearer.

lligures 5 and G are sectional views similar to Figure 2 showing modicd forms of construction.

Figure is a plan view of another modified form, while Figure 8 shows a sectional view similar to Figures 5 and G of still another modified form of construction.

@n the accompanying drawings, I have F used the reference character A to indicate a baseball glove. rl`he reference character B indicates my improved impact reducing means which is built into the face l0 of the glove il. Although l have shown my invention as applied to a base-ball glove, it can also be applied to a base-ball mitt or other types of athletic gloves andmitts as for instance hand ball gloves.

fit present, the face of a baseball glove is usually padded so as to prevent stinging the hand of the wearer when receiving a fast ball from a bat or from a player throwing` the ball with considerable force. A good padding has to be worked in by two or three months of daily use in practice before it is formed just so that when the player receives a ball, he knows that he will be able to hold it audit will not be unexpectedly deflected and also will not sting his hand, causing him to flinch and possibly drop the ball. My impact reducing member B makes it possible to receive the swiftest ball with the same con- `fidence and ease as a slow one. lllhis is accompl'islicd by reason of the fact that the impact reducing member B is located in the center of the face l() and is so constructed for maximum flexibility consistent with firmness that all parts of the member aid in reducing the force of impact of the ball.

The impact reduction is somewhat similar to the eifect of a net on a ball when the ball is driven into the net. No matter how great the force of impact, it is instantly reduced and the ball will fall directly downward.

The force of the ball is instantly reduced to almost Zero, while in the gloves now in use, increase of padding isf the only means to reduce the force of impact. r1`his makes the glove more bunglesoine and stiE and therefore ineflicient. Since breakingfin; is not required, the player does not have the trouble of breaking inta padded glove.. and then when the padding is to his liking, it will soon become thin so as to cause'flinchiiig. Such a glove must then be re-padded or the padding re-adjusted and this is all 'eliminated with the impact `reducing construction 1 have provided.

l/Vith the foregoing advantages in mind, I will now fdescribe` the face construction the face 10, which bound an openingV formed therein and into which the impact reducing member B is set. Thelmember B consists of terminal rings 16` and 18between which the flange 12, an outer ring 2O and a spirally wound member 22 are interposed. The members 16, 18, 2O and 22 are preferably formed of leather, raw hide or other flexible strip material, such as rubber or the like.

The members 16, V18, 20 and 22 are loosely retained in approximate relation ltoA each other by a cord orthread 24r threaded through .openings 26 in the .inembers, asv shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. IThe cords also extend throughthe flange .12 to retain the member Bin assembled position relative to the faceV 10. An'inner lining 28 may be provided if desired.

The openings 26 are preferably slightly.

larger than the cord 24=to allowfreeflexibility of the members relative to each other,

as shown in Figure 4, to conform toithe hand i 30 of thev wearer. The cord\24v also contributes to' iiexibility since it in itself. is flexible. In Figure 4, the members A16 andl 20 are omitted and so is the lining 28, since these are not absolutely essential to workability of the device.

Although I'liave shown the device in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 as being of:flexible'strip material and as annularly and partly spiral ly arranged, none of these considerations are requisite. 1 For instance, instead of a spiral arrangement, a plurality ofconcentric ringsk may be provided and instead ofrbeing. annularly arranged, the sections of the device may be arranged in straight lines side by side to lill a rectangular openingz and other, variations may bevinade without, departingA from the real spirit ofthe invention.

v Also instead 'ofthe impact reducing memey ,-,meinberB,but-;an opening 82 can be left therein without decreasing the eiliciency of ithe device. V.This allows more convenience for assembly of the particular type of de- Vviceshovvn' inFigure 3, although the open- .ing 32 can beoplugged or eliminated in some Aotherlmanner if desired. 1t will` be noted that the ring'18- has inwardly extending flanges. {Thisis preferable'in order to protect the stitches of the cord 24 whereby they project into y,the opening 32. embodying my invention. 11n Figures 1, 2,' 3 and 4, l have shown a downturned'flange. 12 and an inturned flange14on the edge ofV ,a face 10b with a single piece washer 225 secured in position by cordsV 245. v- The niemberf22bmay be of rubber or similar flexible composition. AOther parts corresponding to Figure 2 areindicated at 12b, 14?), 1Gb. and `3232.

1InFigure"7-I have show nrthe face 10c covered byaplurality ofdisks 22o made of rubber or leather` or similar flexibleY material and providing an impact reducing member of sectional character. r'lhemeinbers-22o may bejformed .like ordinary. buttons. and sewed, by, threads 38 totheface 10c. They may be of any shapedesired, but regardless of shape, ftliey present a very flexible face for reducing force of impact Vand being of..

sectional character, facilitate flexion thereof.

In Figure 8, Ihave shown a. face 10d and an inner face 36d .with a pair of rings 22d secured therebetween by stitches 84d. "The cords 24d may then be utilized forconnecting :the rings 22dI together. The face 10d` between the rings 22d stretches across the rings 'something inv'the manner of a drinn head to serve as a resilient and fiexible impact reduci-iig face.

It will be obvious that my construction can .be either inset in the-faceof a glove or the z like as'illustrated yor-.be entirely arranged under affle'xible face Oron top .off the face.

`'Ihischa-nge andotlieis may Cbemade in the Iconstruction and arrangement f ofVl the partsof my-device Without departing from ,the real spiritand7 purpose of my invention,

and it is my intention to cover by my.claims,

anyinoditied forms offstructurepruise of'.y

mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included Within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a glove or mitt construction, a face having impact reducing means including an annularly arranged sectional member of flexible strip material and means to loosely retain the sections thereof in approximate relation to each other.

2. In a glove or mitt construction, a face having impact reducing means including a sectional member of flexible strip material and cords through the sections thereof to retain said sections in approximate relation to each other.

3. In a glove or mitt construction, a face having impact reducing means including an annularly arranged sectional member and means to loosely retain the sections thereof in approximate relation to each other.

4. In a glove or mitt construction, a face having impact reducing means including an annularly arranged sectional member having an opening in the center thereof and means to loosely retain the sections thereof in approximate relation to each other.

5. ln a glove or mitt construction, a face having impact reducing means comprising an annularly arranged sectional member of flexible material having an opening in the cen-- ter thereof and means to loosely retain the sections thereof in approximate relation to each other whereby the sections may freely flex to conform to the hand of a wearer.

6. A glove or mitt construction comprising a face having an opening therein and impact reducing means spanning said opening, the edge of said face adjacent said impact reducing means being secured to the edge of said impact reducing means.

glove or mitt construction comprising a face having an opening therein andimpact reducing means spanning said opening, the edge of said face adjacent said impact reducing means being bent at an angle relative to said face and secured to the edge of said impact reducing means by cords extending through such bent portion and through said impact means.

8. A glove or mitt construction comprising al face having an opening therein and impact reducing means spanning said opening, the edge of said face adjacent said impact reducu ing means having a flange extending from the face and across the edge of said impact reducing means and a flange extending under said impact reducing means and means for securing said impact reducing means to said first mentioned flange.

Des Moines, Iowa, September 28th, 1931.

KENZIE K. KIRKHAM. 

